Method and system for providing wi-fi service by wi-fi device

ABSTRACT

A method and a system for providing a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) service, in which when multiple counterpart devices are selected based on manufacturer information and support information on supported functions and capability defined in a service information field of each beacon message or each probe response message, a final device is determined by checking multiple pieces of signal information of the selected counterpart devices, are provided. The method includes receiving messages from multiple counterpart devices, selecting one or more counterpart devices, each of which supports a requested service, from an identical manufacturer when the messages are received, checking multiple pieces of signal information of the selected counterpart devices when the number of the selected counterpart devices is greater than one, and determining a device having the signal information satisfying set conditions as a final device.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/107,209 filed May 13, 2011 in the U.S. Patentand Trademark Office, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)of a Korean patent application filed in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice on May 14, 2010 and assigned Serial No. 10-2010-0045288, theentire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) device.More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and asystem in which Wi-Fi devices share support information on functionsthat they support by transmitting/receiving the support informationto/from each other and provide Wi-Fi services based on the sharedsupport information.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the development of wireless technology, wired networks that wereonce used by many people have recently been replaced by wirelessnetworks. Namely, since wireless technology can address the problem ofrestriction on mobility that a wired network has, research ontechnologies that use a wireless network has been actively conducted.Also, the propagation and use of various portable terminals haverecently rapidly increased due to the remarkable development ofinformation communication technology, semiconductor technology, etc.More particularly, recent portable terminals provide a mobileconvergence phase in which they do not stay in a traditional domain butcovers domains of other terminals. As an example, a mobile communicationterminal has various additional functions, which include a Television(TV) viewing function (e.g. mobile broadcasting such as DigitalMultimedia Broadcasting (DMB) or Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB)), amusic playback function (e.g. Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer-3(MP-3), a function for taking photos, a Wi-Fi connection function, etc.,as well as typical communication functions (e.g. a voice phone call andmessage transmission/reception).

A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is also known as “Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi)” because a wireless network can be conveniently used, similar tohigh-fidelity (hi-fi) audio. In the WLAN, the Internet can be accessedthrough a portable terminal or a notebook computer within apredetermined radius an Access Point (AP). Thus, the WLAN, which has thepotential of an open-type wireless network, is being rapidly spreadalong with the popularization of portable terminals. Currently, Wi-Fi isbeing used to provide high-speed data services to various locationsincluding schools, airports, hotels, offices, etc.

However, there is a problem in that a connection function essential fora Wi-Fi service is inconvenient. Accordingly, a portable terminalsupporting the Wi-Fi provides a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) function forsimple and easy settings from a wireless connection to a securitysetting. Namely, each Wi-Fi device currently provides a function capableof setting a secure connection between Wi-Fi devices by pressing aparticular button assigned by the WPS function or by directly inputtinga given PIN code.

However, the above WPS function is not widely recognized by generalusers. Also, the WPS function has the inconvenience of requiring a userto manually press a particular assigned button or manually inputmultiple digits of a Personal Identification Number (PIN) code. Further,each portable convergence terminal, which has recently been propagated,requires a new process for a Wi-Fi connection in addition to theexisting convergence function. Accordingly, inconvenience is caused tousers of the portable convergence terminals.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentinvention is to provide a method and a system in which Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi) devices can exchange information with each other regardingfunctions that they support.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a control methodby which a Wi-Fi device can select an optimal counterpart Wi-Fi devicesupporting functions of a Wi-Fi service-based application when the Wi-Fidevice executes the Wi-Fi service-based application.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and asystem in which a Wi-Fi device can provide services by rapidly selectingand setting a connection to an optimal counterpart Wi-Fi device foroperating a Wi-Fi service-based application based on support informationprovided by other Wi-Fi devices.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and asystem capable of selecting an optimal counterpart Wi-Fi device frommultiple counterpart Wi-Fi devices by checking the received signalintensities of the multiple counterpart Wi-Fi devices during automaticconnection setting of a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) function accordingto automatic authentication between the Wi-Fi devices.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and asystem that can implement an optimal Wi-Fi service environment capableof providing the user convenience of using a Wi-Fi service by enablingWi-Fi devices to share information supported by themselves with eachother.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and asystem that improve the usability and convenience of a Wi-Fi device byautomatically selecting an optimal counterpart Wi-Fi device capable ofusing a particular Wi-Fi based service.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method forproviding a Wi-Fi service is provided. The method includes receivingmessages from multiple counterpart devices, selecting one or morecounterpart devices, each of which supports a requested service, from anidentical manufacturer when the messages are received, checking multiplepieces of signal information of the selected counterpart devices whenthe number of the selected counterpart devices is greater than one, anddetermining a device having the signal information satisfying setconditions as a final device.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a system forproviding a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) service is provided. The systemincludes multiple first devices, each of which transmits a messageincluding a service information field for including manufacturerinformation of devices and information on capabilities and functionssupported by each device, and a second device for selecting one or morecounterpart devices for performing a particular Wi-Fi based service withreference to the service information field of a message received fromeach first device, and for determining, as a final device, a devicehaving signal information satisfying set conditions among the selectedcounterpart devices, each of which has signal information thereof, whenthe number of the selected counterpart devices is greater than one.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainexemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the configuration of a systemfor describing an operation according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration ofa Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) device according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an illustrative view showing a message format used to transmitsupport information of another Wi-Fi device according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an operation for a Wi-Fibased service between Wi-Fi devices according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an operation for a Wi-Fibased service between Wi-Fi devices according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation for transmitting a beaconmessage by a Wi-Fi device according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation for transmitting a proberesponse message by a Wi-Fi device according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a Wi-Fi device for aWi-Fi service according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a Wi-Fi device for aWi-Fi service according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control method for determining acounterpart Wi-Fi device, to which a Wi-Fi device is to set aconnection, by the Wi-Fi device according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIGS. 11A and 11B are an illustrative view showing an information tableaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplaryembodiments of the invention as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the embodiments described hereincan be made without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions andconstructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of theinvention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention is provided for illustration purpose only and not forthe purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claimsand their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

The following disclosure relates to a technology for automaticauthentication between Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) devices. According toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a Wi-Fi ProtectedSetup (WPS) function for simple and easy settings from a wirelessconnection to a security setting can be extended without a complicatedsetting process in a Wi-Fi device. Namely, a user can set a connectionbetween Wi-Fi devices by pressing a particular button assigned to aWi-Fi device or by inputting a given Personal Identification Number(PIN) code through the Wi-Fi device in order to use a WPS function.Moreover, exemplary embodiments of the present invention enableautomatic authentication without the intervention of a user when the useof a WPS function is desired. To this end, in an exemplaryimplementation, Wi-Fi devices can transmit information to each otherregarding functions that they support, so that each of the Wi-Fi devicescan recognize the information regarding functions supported by acounterpart Wi-Fi device. Also, exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure propose an apparatus and a control method, in which a Wi-Fidevice can determine an optimal counterpart Wi-Fi device among multiplecounterpart Wi-Fi devices during automatic connection setting of the WPSfunction according to automatic authentication between the Wi-Fi devicesbased on the support information. Therefore, an exemplary apparatus andcontrol method proposed by the present disclosure can more simply andeasily support a Wi-Fi service.

Hereinafter, an exemplary configuration of a Wi-Fi device and a methodfor controlling the operation thereof will be described with referenceto FIGS. 1 to 11B. However, it should be noted that the configuration ofa Wi-Fi device and a method for controlling the operation thereof arenot limited to the following description and can be applied to variousembodiments based on the following description.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the configuration of a systemfor describing an operation according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system of the present invention includes a Wi-Fidevice (hereinafter, referred to as a “transmission device”) 100functioning as a transmitter, and a Wi-Fi device (hereinafter, referredto as a “reception device”) 200 functioning as a receiver. In thisspecification, a transmission device and a reception device arediscriminated from each other for convenience of description. Further,in the present invention, the reception device 200 may representmultiple Wi-Fi devices. For example, the reception device 200 may be anyof various electronic apparatuses including a music playback player, adisplay apparatus, a portable game terminal, a printer, etc, each ofwhich includes a built-in Wi-Fi module. In the following description,the reception device 200 will be described as any one or multiple onesamong the various electronic apparatuses as described above. Of course,it is to be understood that the transmission device 100 may also includeany of various electronic apparatuses including a music playback player,a display apparatus, a portable game terminal, a printer, etc, each ofwhich includes a built-in Wi-Fi module. For ease of description, thetransmission device 100 is illustrated in FIG. 1 as a mobilecommunication terminal.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the Wi-Fi based system may support a Wi-Fidirect function between the transmission device 100 and the receptiondevice 200, and the transmission device 100 and the reception device 200may be directly interconnected in a Direct Access (DA) mode. Namely,FIG. 1 illustrates the relation of setting a connection between theWi-Fi devices 100 and 200 in the DA mode. In this system, the Wi-Fidevices 100 and 200 located within a short distance of each other may bedirectly interconnected in the DA mode by using Wi-Fi modules, insteadof being connected through an Access Point (AP).

Also, the Wi-Fi devices 100 and 200 may exchange information with eachother regarding functions that they support. For example, when a userexecutes a Wi-Fi service-based application in the transmission device100, the transmission device 100 identifies support informationtransmitted from the reception device 200. Then, as an example, thetransmission device 100 can first select reception devices, which havebeen manufactured by the same manufacturer as that of the transmissiondevice 100, with reference to the identified support information. Whenthe number of reception devices selected by the first selection isgreater than one, the transmission device 100 may secondly selectreception devices capable of supporting a Wi-Fi service according to theexecuted application among the multiple first-selected receptiondevices. Further, when the number of the secondly-selected receptiondevices is also greater than one, the transmission device 100 maydetermine an optimal reception device for the Wi-Fi service among themultiple secondly-selected reception devices by checking multiple piecesof signal information (e.g. received signal intensities) from thesecondly-selected reception devices. Then, data related to the executedapplication is transmitted to the determined reception device, so thatthe application may be executed in the determined reception device. Anexemplary method for transmitting support information and determining afinal counterpart device as described above, and a control methodthereof, which is related to the above method, will be described withreference to the drawings described below.

Meanwhile, FIG. 1 illustrates the configuration of the system in whichthe Wi-Fi devices 100 and 200 are interconnected in the DA mode.However, the Wi-Fi devices 100 and 200 are not limited to a connectionin the DA mode. Namely, the Wi-Fi devices 100 and 200 may have aconfiguration for a system using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN),or a system configuration for interconnection between the Wi-Fi devices100 and 200 through an AP.

For example, the Wi-Fi devices 100 and 200 include Wi-Fi modules and maybe connected to an Internet network through a repeater (e.g. a router)via an AP in a hotspot area. In this system, the Wi-Fi devices 100 and200 may be connected to the Internet network via a mobile communicationnetwork in an area that is not equipped with the AP. Also, when it isdifficult to set a direct interconnection between the Wi-Fi devices 100and 200 in the DA mode without a connection through the AP, the Wi-Fidevices 100 and 200 may be set to be interconnected through the APs fordata transmission/reception.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration ofa Wi-Fi device according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. The configuration of a Wi-Fi device as illustrated in FIG. 2may be commonly applied to both the transmission device 100 and thereception device 200 as described above with reference to FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, a Wi-Fi device includes a Wi-Fi module 110, aninput unit 120, a storage unit 130, and a control unit 140. Also, theWi-Fi device may include various configurations, depending on the formthereof. For example, the Wi-Fi device may further include a displayunit for displaying screen data, a Radio Frequency (RF) module forperforming a mobile communication function, an audio processor having amicrophone (MIC) and a speaker (SPK), a camera module for capturingstill or moving images, a digital broadcasting module for receiving andreproducing digital broadcasting (e.g. mobile broadcasting such asDigital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) or Digital Video Broadcasting(DVB)), and a Bluetooth communication module for performing a Bluetoothcommunication function. However, the description and illustration of theabove elements will be omitted.

The above Wi-Fi module 110 supports Internet Protocol (IP)-based mobilecommunication of the Wi-Fi device. In an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fimodule 110 includes an AP module 113 and a station (STA) module 115.Under the control of the control unit 140, the Wi-Fi module 110 mayoperate in an AP mode by waking the AP module 113 or may operate in anon-AP mode (i.e. an STA mode) by waking the STA module 115. In thisspecification, the non-AP mode (i.e. the STA mode) refers to a mode inwhich a Wi-Fi device operates depending on the function of a device sidewhen providing a Wi-Fi based service. For example, the non-AP mode mayrefer to a mode in which a Wi-Fi device operates as the transmissiondevice 100 as described above with reference to FIG. 1. Also, in thisspecification, the AP mode refers to a mode in which the Wi-Fi deviceoperates depending on the function of an AP side when providing theWi-Fi based service. For example, the AP mode may refer to a mode inwhich a Wi-Fi device operates as the reception device 200 as describedabove with reference to FIG. 1. In this specification, the AP mode andthe non-AP mode (i.e. the STA) are classified for convenience ofdescription.

The Wi-Fi module 110 transmits support information regarding functionssupported by the Wi-Fi device according to the control of the controller140 in the AP mode of the Wi-Fi device. For example, the Wi-Fi module110 may periodically broadcast a beacon message, which includes thesupport information of the Wi-Fi device, through the AP module 113 inthe AP mode. Otherwise, in the AP mode, the Wi-Fi module 110 may receivea request message (e.g. a probe request message) from another Wi-Fidevice (e.g. the transmission device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1) whichoperates in the non-AP mode, and then provide the received requestmessage to the control unit 140. In response, the Wi-Fi module 110 maytransmit a message (e.g. a probe response message), which includes thesupport information of the Wi-Fi device and is provided by the controlunit 140, through the AP module 113.

Also, the Wi-Fi module 110 may transmit a probe request message asdescribed above to another Wi-Fi device (e.g. the reception device 200illustrated in FIG. 1), which operates in the AP mode, through the STAmodule 115 in the non-AP mode of the Wi-Fi device. Then, the Wi-Fimodule 110 may receive a beacon message or a probe response message asdescribed above, which includes support information of another Wi-Fidevice operating in the AP mode and is transmitted from the other Wi-Fidevice, through the STA module 115, and provide the received beaconmessage or probe response message to the control unit 140. Next, theWi-Fi module 120 may transmit/receive an automatic authenticationrequest message and an automatic authentication response message asdescribed below.

The transmission and reception of the messages as described above, whichinclude a beacon message, a probe request message, a probe responsemessage, an automatic authentication request message, and an automaticauthentication response message, will be described in more detail in thefollowing discussion regarding a method for operation control.

The input unit 120 detects a handling action of a user and generates aninput signal corresponding to the detected handling action. The inputunit 120 provides the generated input signal to the control unit 140.The input unit 120 may include multiple buttons. More particularly, theinput unit 120 may include at least one button for generating a userinput signal related to the execution (e.g. performing a WPS functionfor setting a connection between Wi-Fi devices) of a Wi-Fi function forusing a Wi-Fi based service.

The storage unit 130 stores various programs and data executed andprocessed by the Wi-Fi device. It may include at least one volatilememory device and at least one nonvolatile memory device. For example,the storage unit 130 may continually or temporarily store an operatingsystem of the Wi-Fi device, programs and data related to a controloperation for an AP mode by the Wi-Fi module 110, programs and datarelated to a control operation for a non-AP mode (i.e. an STA mode) bythe Wi-Fi module 110, programs and data related to a control operationfor an automatic authentication function in the Wi-Fi device, programsand data related to a control operation for the transmission function ofsupport information of the Wi-Fi device, programs and data related to acontrol operation for the function of determining an optimal counterpartWi-Fi device by using signal information (e.g. a received signalintensity), etc. The storage unit 130 may store a threshold fordetermining an optimal counterpart Wi-Fi device. Also, the storage unit130 may store an information table for providing the support informationof the Wi-Fi device. In this specification, the information table may beconstructed as illustrated in FIGS. 11A and 11B.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are an illustrative view showing an information tableaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 11A and 11B, the information table includes acategory field indicating a device type (e.g. Telephone, Computer,Printers, etc.) to which a Wi-Fi device belongs, an Identifier (ID)value field indicating an identifier (e.g. 10) for identifying arelevant Category (e.g. Telephone), a Sub-category field indicatinginformation (i.e. a convergence function, capability, Windows Mobile,Phone-single mode, Phone-dual mode, etc.) supported by a devicebelonging to the relevant Category (e.g. Telephone), an ID value fieldindicating an identifier (e.g. 1, 2 or 3) for identifying each piece ofinformation supported by a relevant Sub-category, etc. Also, theinformation table may include a single category (e.g. Telephone) amongthe Category items as described above depending on the type of a Wi-Fidevice, and may include an ID value for the Category, and sub-categoriesand ID values for the Sub-categories. For example, when the type of theWi-Fi device corresponds to “Telephone,” the information table may beconstructed as illustrated in Table 1 below for the category “Telephone”among the illustrations shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B. Also, theinformation table includes information on Sub-categories which maychange depending on functions supported by the relevant Wi-Fi device inTable 1 below.

TABLE 1 Category ID value Sub-category ID value Telephone 10 Windowsmobile 1 Phone-single mode 2 Phone-dual mode 3 Smartphone-single mode 4Smartphone-dual mode 5

The control unit 140 controls overall operations of the Wi-Fi device.The control unit 140 may control an operation related to functions forproviding a Wi-Fi based service of the Wi-Fi device. Also, the controlunit 140 may control an operation related to the automation of a WPSfunction of the Wi-Fi device. For example, the control unit 140 maycontrol the automation of the WPS function through an automaticauthentication function in the Wi-Fi device. In an exemplaryimplementation, the control unit 140 may control operation of the Wi-Fimodule 110 by set periods. For example, the control unit 140 may wakethe AP module 113 of the Wi-Fi module 110 or may wake the STA module 115of the Wi-Fi module 110 by the set periods.

Also, the control unit 140 may control an operation related to the APmode and the non-AP mode (i.e. the STA mode) of the Wi-Fi deviceaccording to an operating scheme of the Wi-Fi module 110. For example,when the Wi-Fi device operates in the AP mode and periodicallybroadcasts a beacon message at beacon intervals, the control unit 140may include manufacturer information of the Wi-Fi device and supportinformation on functions and capability supported by the Wi-Fi device inthe beacon message, and may transmit the beacon message including them.Also, when the Wi-Fi device operates in the AP mode and receives a proberequest message from a counterpart Wi-Fi device operating in the non-APmode (i.e. the STA mode), the control unit 140 may include manufacturerinformation of the Wi-Fi device and support information on functions andcapability supported by the Wi-Fi device in a probe response messagecorresponding to the received probe request message, and may transmitthe probe response message including them to the counterpart Wi-Fidevice.

Also, when the Wi-Fi device operates in the non-AP mode (i.e. the STAmode) and receives a beacon message or a probe response message from acounterpart Wi-Fi device operating in the AP mode, the control unit 140may check support information included in the relevant beacon message orprobe response message, and may confirm functions and capabilitysupported by the counterpart Wi-Fi device. More particularly, when theWi-Fi device executes an application according to the Wi-Fi basedservice, the control unit 140 may determine an optimal counterpart Wi-Fidevice for the Wi-Fi based service corresponding to the executedapplication based on the support information obtained from thecounterpart Wi-Fi device as described above. For example, the controlunit 140 may first select reception devices of the same manufacturerbased on the support information of the beacon messages or proberesponse messages. When the number of the first-selected receptiondevices is greater than one, the control unit 140 may secondly selectreception devices capable of supporting the particular requested serviceamong the multiple first-selected reception devices. When the number ofthe secondly-selected reception devices is greater than one, the controlunit 140 may determine a final counterpart Wi-Fi device for the Wi-Fiservice among the multiple secondly-selected reception devices bychecking multiple pieces of signal information (e.g. received signalintensities) from the secondly-selected reception devices.

The control unit 140 may control operating of the Wi-Fi based serviceaccording to the determined counterpart Wi-Fi device and the executedapplication. For example, when an application related to video datareproduction is executed, the control unit 140 may determine acounterpart Wi-Fi device having a video data output function, bychecking the obtained support information. Thereafter, the control unit140 transmits the video data to the determined counterpart Wi-Fi device,so that the determined counterpart Wi-Fi device can output the receivedvideo data.

When the counterpart Wi-Fi device has been determined, the control unit140 may control connection setting according to thetransmission/reception of an automatic authentication request messageand an automatic authentication response message as described below. Forexample, when the Wi-Fi device operates in the non-AP mode, the controlunit 140 may control transmitting of the automatic authenticationrequest message, which includes a PIN code or a button input commandcode, to a counterpart Wi-Fi device in a scheme defined for a WPSfunction. Also, when the Wi-Fi device operates in the AP mode andreceives an automatic authentication request message, the control unit140 may automatically input the PIN code for the WPS function or mayactivate the button input for the WPS function according to the PIN codeor the button input command code included in the received automaticauthentication request message, and may control the transmission of anautomatic authentication response message. As described above, Wi-Fidevices of the same manufacturer may mutually transmit/receive anautomatic authentication request message and an automatic authenticationresponse message based on support information defined in a beaconmessage or a probe response message. Namely, it is possible to set aconnection between the Wi-Fi devices according to the automation of theWPS function according to automatic authentication by thetransmission/reception of the messages between the Wi-Fi devices of thesame manufacturer based on the support information.

The control unit 140 will be described in more detail regarding a methodfor operation control as described below. The control unit 140 alsoperforms various control operations related to typical functions of theWi-Fi device. For example, when a communication function using a mobilecommunication network is executed in the Wi-Fi device, the control unit140 may control operating of the communication function according to theexecution of the application. Also, when an application of acommunication function using a local network is executed in the Wi-Fidevice, the control unit 140 may control operating of the communicationfunction according to the execution of the application.

Meanwhile, the Wi-Fi devices illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 may includeall types of information communication apparatuses, all types ofmultimedia apparatuses, and application apparatuses for all types ofinformation communication apparatuses and all types of multimediaapparatuses. For example, the Wi-Fi device may include small devices,such as a mobile communication terminal, a smart phone, a PortableMultimedia Player (PMP), a digital broadcasting player, a PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), a music player (e.g. an MP3 player), and aportable game terminal, which operate by communication protocolscorresponding to various communication systems. Also, the Wi-Fi devicemay be operated as a medium or large device, such as a Television (TV),a Large Format Display (LFD), a Digital Signage (DS), a media pole, aPersonal Computer (PC), a notebook, a printer, and a combinationapparatus.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative view showing a message format used to transmitsupport information of another Wi-Fi device according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, each of a beacon message and a probe responsemessage as described above includes an Organizationally UniqueIdentifier (OUI) field 301, a Len (Length) field 303, an ID (Identifier)field 305, a Version field 307, a Type field 309, a Value field 311, anda Service Protocol Type field 313. The format of a probe responsemessage will be illustratively described with reference to FIG. 3.

The OUI field 301 represents a service information field for definingservice support information. The OUI field 301 may have a valueindicating manufacturer information of a Wi-Fi device. For example, theOUI field 301 may have a value of “00 00 F0” for Samsung ElectronicsCo., Ltd. The OUI field 301 has a unique value assigned to eachmanufacturer. In an exemplary implementation, the OUI field 301 mayinclude not only the manufacturer information as described above butalso support information on functions and capability supported by theWi-Fi device. Also, in the OUI field 301, support information onparticular service information requested by a particular Wi-Fi devicemay be additionally defined. The OUI field 301 may be used to indicatethat the relevant Wi-Fi device supports a WPS function according toautomatic authentication, which is employed by Wi-Fi devices of the samemanufacturer, and to enable the Wi-Fi devices to recognize the functionssupportable by the Wi-Fi devices. An exemplary operation fortransmitting/receiving a message including the OUI field 301 will bedescribed below.

The Len field 303 represents a field for recording the entire size of abeacon message or a probe response message. The ID field 305 is used toprevent the duplication of the value of the OUI field 301 as describedabove, and represents a field of a state where a particular value is notdetermined. The Version field 307 represents a field for extension, andmay be a field defined depending on the form change of a message used ina Wi-Fi based system. The Type field 309 represents a field for definingthe type of a beacon message or a response message. The Type field 309may be defined to indicate “resolved” for “0000,” “advertise” for“0001,” “WPS start request” for “0010,” and “WPS response” for “0011.”

The Value field 311 represents a field for defining a value for aCategory of a Wi-Fi device and values for Sub-categories supportedwithin the relevant Category based on the information table as describedabove. Namely, the Value field 311 is used to define an apparatusCategory and Sub-categories of the Wi-Fi device. Therefore, the Valuefield 311 may have a value indicating which Category the relevant Wi-Fidevice belongs to, and may have values indicating information onparticular functions and capability supported by the relevant Wi-Fidevice. For example, the Value field 311 may have a value indicatingthat the Wi-Fi device belongs to Audio Devices and values indicating aparticular function and capability among the Audio Devices. Each valuedefined in the Value field 311 may be defined by previously classifyingdevices according to Categories as described with reference to Table 1.

The Service Protocol Type field 313 is used to define the protocol typeof a wireless environment for transmitting/receiving a probe responsemessage. The Service Protocol Type field 313, for example, may bedefined to indicate “all service protocol types” for “00000000,”“bonjour” for “00000001,” “UPnP” for “00000010,” “ws-discovery” for“00000011,” and “vendor specific” for “11111111.” Also, a value, whichis still not defined in the Service Protocol Type field 313, has a stateof “reserved.”

A message (e.g. a beacon message or a probe response message) defined inan exemplary embodiment of the present invention may indicate whichmanufacturer has made a Wi-Fi device in the OUI field 301 as describedabove. Also, the OUI field 301 or the Value field 311 may be used toindicate which functions and capability are supported by the Wi-Fidevice. An exemplary method for using these messages will be describedbelow.

Scan processes among Wi-Fi devices are classified into two types. Thefirst scan process is a passive scan method. The passive scan methodcorresponds to a method for using a beacon message transmitted by aWi-Fi device operating in an AP mode. The beacon message indicates avalue transmitted by the Wi-Fi device in the AP mode. The beacon messagemakes it possible to periodically broadcast the existence and supportcapability (e.g. a signal intensity and a usable bit-rate) of the Wi-Fidevice in the AP mode to nearby Wi-Fi devices. According to the passivescan method, a Wi-Fi device operating in a non-AP mode (i.e. an STAmode) may obtain various pieces of information necessary to connect to anetwork through the candidate Wi-Fi devices, and/or service typeinformation and capability information provided by the candidate Wi-Fidevices, etc., along with a list of the candidate Wi-Fi devicestransmitting beacon messages.

The second scan process is an active scan method. In the active scanmethod, a Wi-Fi device in the non-AP mode requiring connection settingfirst transmits a probe request message to a counterpart Wi-Fi device inan AP mode. The probe request message may include particular serviceinformation requested by the Wi-Fi device in the non-AP mode. The Wi-Fidevice in the AP mode, which has received the probe request message,transmits a probe response message as a response to the probe requestmessage to the Wi-Fi device in the non-AP mode. The probe responsemessage may include various pieces of information necessary for a directWi-Fi connection. Accordingly, the Wi-Fi device in the non-AP mode mayobtain a list of candidate Wi-Fi devices through the received proberesponse message.

Hereinafter, an exemplary operation in a passive scan scheme and anexemplary operation in an active scan scheme will be separatelydescribed with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5.

FIG. 4 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an operation for a Wi-Fibased service between Wi-Fi devices according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention.

In FIG. 4, the transmission device 100 corresponds to a Wi-Fi deviceoperating in the non-AP mode (i.e. the STA mode) and the receptiondevices 200 correspond to multiple Wi-Fi devices operating in the APmode, as described above.

Referring to FIG. 4, the transmission device 100 may receive as inputthe execution of a Wi-Fi based application in step 401. Then, thetransmission device 100 may receive a beacon message which isperiodically transmitted by each of the reception devices 200 existingaround the transmission device 100 in step 403. Each of the receptiondevices 200 may periodically broadcast a beacon message. Accordingly,the transmission device 100 may receive each beacon message before orafter executing an application in step 401. Namely, each beacon messagemay be periodically broadcast by the Wi-Fi device in the AP mode asdescribed above, so that the Wi-Fi device in the non-AP mode mayperiodically receive each beacon message in response.

Meanwhile, each of the reception devices 200 may include manufacturerinformation and information on functions that they support and on theircapabilities in an OUI field of the beacon message, and may transmit thebeacon message. For example, on the assumption that, among the receptiondevices 200, reception devices 210 and 230 are Wi-Fi devices accordingto exemplary embodiments of the present invention while a receptiondevice 250 is a typical Wi-Fi device, each of the reception devices 210and 230 may define the above information in the OUI field of the beaconmessage, and may transmit the beacon message including the aboveinformation. On the other hand, the typical reception device 250 maytransmit a usual beacon message following a standard protocol. Then,each of the reception devices 200 may define a category andsub-categories of the relevant reception device in a Value field of thebeacon message, and may transmit the beacon message including them.

When receiving the beacon message from each of the reception devices 200existing around the transmission device 100, the transmission device 100may check the OUI field of each beacon message in step 405. Then, thetransmission device 100 may determine reception devices (e.g. thereception devices 210 and 230), each of which has the same manufacturerinformation as the transmission device 100 and supports a servicecorresponding to the executed application, with reference to the supportinformation defined in the OUI field of each beacon message as describedabove in step 407. For example, the transmission device 100 may selectcounterpart devices, which have been manufactured by the samemanufacturer as that of the transmission device 100, with reference tothe OUI field of each received beacon message, and may select acounterpart device supporting a requested service among the selectedcounterpart devices. When there are multiple counterpart devices (e.g.the reception devices 210 and 230) of the same manufacturer, whichsupport the requested service, the transmission device 100 may check twopieces of signal information (e.g. received signal intensities) of therelevant reception devices 210 and 230. Next, the transmission device100 may select a reception device having signal information which has avalue (e.g. signal intensity) equal to or greater than a threshold. Whenthe number of counterpart devices, each of which has signal informationhaving a value equal to or greater than the threshold, is also greaterthan one, the transmission device 100 may determine a counterpart devicehaving the largest value in the signal information as a finalcounterpart device. The determination of a final counterpart device willbe described in an exemplary method for operation control below. Thecase where the determined final counterpart device is the receptiondevice 210 will be illustratively described below.

When the reception device 210 has been determined as the finalcounterpart device, the transmission device 100 transmits an automaticauthentication request message for setting a Wi-Fi connection to thedetermined reception device 210 in step 409. In this specification, theautomatic authentication request message refers to a message forrequesting automatic connection setting according to automaticauthentication by a standard previously and mutually agreed upon bydevices of the same manufacturer based on information defined in an OUIfield. The automatic authentication request message may include a PINcode or a button input command code for wireless encryption setting in aPIN scheme or in a Push Button Configuration (PBC) scheme.

When receiving the automatic authentication request message, thereception device 210 transmits an automatic authentication responsemessage as a response to the received automatic authentication requestmessage to the transmission device 100 in step 411. For example, whenreceiving the automatic authentication request message, the receptiondevice 210 may set connection to the transmission device 100 in responseto an automatic input using a PIN code included in the automaticauthentication request message in the PIN scheme, and may transmit anautomatic authentication response message as a response to the receivedautomatic authentication request message to the transmission device 100.Other than this, when receiving the automatic authentication requestmessage, the reception device 210 may set a connection to thetransmission device 100 by automatically activating a buttoncorresponding to a WPS function by a button input command code includedin the received automatic authentication request message in the PBCscheme, and may transmit an automatic authentication response message asa response to the received automatic authentication request message tothe transmission device 100.

The transmission device 100 and the reception device 210 may establish acommunication channel for Wi-Fi communication by transmitting/receivingthe automatic authentication request message and the automaticauthentication response message as described above, and may completeinterconnection setting in step 413.

When the transmission device 100 and the reception device 210 areinterconnected, the transmission device 100 may transmit data, whichcorresponds to the application executed in step 401, to the receptiondevice 210 in step 415. For example, it is assumed that the transmissiondevice 100 requests video data reproduction and the reception device 210is a display apparatus capable of outputting screen data. In this casewhere the transmission device 100 and the reception device 210 areinterconnected by the automatic authentication therebetween as describedabove, the transmission device 100 may transmit the video data to thereception device 210 through the established communication channel. Whenreceiving the video data, the reception device 210 may display thereceived video data through a display unit thereof.

FIG. 5 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an operation for a Wi-Fibased service between Wi-Fi devices according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention.

In FIG. 5, the transmission device 100 corresponds to a Wi-Fi deviceoperating in the non-AP mode (i.e. the STA mode) and the receptiondevices 200 correspond to multiple Wi-Fi devices operating in the APmode, as described above.

Referring to FIG. 5, the transmission device 100 may receive as inputthe execution of a Wi-Fi based application in step 501. Then, thetransmission device 100 broadcasts probe request messages in order toscan Wi-Fi devices existing around the transmission device 100 in step503. A probe request message may include a particular service (e.g.request function information on the execution, reproduction, output,storage, etc. of data corresponding to the executed application)requested by a Wi-Fi device (e.g. the transmission device 100) in thenon-AP mode.

When receiving the probe request message, each of the reception devices200 transmits a probe response message as a response to the receivedprobe request message to the transmission device 100 in step 505. Atthis time, each of the reception devices 200 may include manufacturerinformation, information on functions that they support, information ontheir capabilities, and support information on requested services in anOUI field of the probe response message, and may transmit the proberesponse message. For example, on the assumption that, among thereception devices 200, a reception device 210 is a Wi-Fi deviceaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention whilereception devices 230 and 250 are typical Wi-Fi devices, the receptiondevice 210 may define the above information in the OUI field of theprobe response message, and may transmit the probe response messageincluding the above information. On the other hand, each of the typicalreception devices 230 and 250 may transmit a usual probe responsemessage following a standard protocol. Then, each of the receptiondevices 200 may define a Category and Sub-categories of the relevantreception device in a Value field of the probe response message, and maytransmit the probe response message.

When receiving the probe response message from each of the receptiondevices 200 existing around the transmission device 100, thetransmission device 100 may check the OUI field of each probe responsemessage in step 507. Then, the transmission device 100 may determine areception device (e.g. the reception device 210), each of which has thesame manufacturer information as the transmission device 100 andsupports a service corresponding to the executed application, withreference to the support information defined in the OUI field of eachprobe response message as described above in step 509.

Meanwhile, when there are multiple reception devices (e.g. the receptiondevices 210 and 230) of the same manufacturer, which support therequested service, the transmission device 100 may check two pieces ofsignal information (e.g. received signal intensities) of the relevantreception devices 210 and 230. Then, the transmission device 100 mayselect a reception device which has signal information having a value(e.g. signal intensity) equal to or greater than a preset threshold.When there are also a multiple number of reception devices, each ofwhich has signal information having a value equal to or greater than thepreset threshold, the transmission device 100 may determine a receptiondevice having the largest value in the signal information as a finalcounterpart device (e.g. the reception device 210). The determination ofa final counterpart device will be described in an exemplary method foroperation control below.

When the reception device 210 has been determined as the finalcounterpart device, the transmission device 100 transmits an automaticauthentication request message for setting a Wi-Fi connection to thedetermined reception device 210 in step 511. In this description, theautomatic authentication request message refers to a message forrequesting automatic connection setting according to automaticauthentication by a standard previously and mutually agreed upon bydevices of the same manufacturer based on information defined in an OUIfield, as described above. The automatic authentication request messagemay include a PIN code or a button input command code for wirelessencryption setting in a PIN scheme or in a PBC scheme.

When receiving the automatic authentication request message, thereception device 210 transmits an automatic authentication responsemessage as a response to the received automatic authentication requestmessage to the transmission device 100 in step 513. For example, whenreceiving the automatic authentication request message, the receptiondevice 210 may set a connection to the transmission device 100 inresponse to an automatic input using a PIN code included in theautomatic authentication request message in the PIN scheme, and maytransmit an automatic authentication response message as a response tothe received automatic authentication request message to thetransmission device 100. Other than this, when receiving the automaticauthentication request message, the reception device 210 may set aconnection to the transmission device 100 by automatically activating abutton corresponding to a WPS function according to a button inputcommand code included in the received automatic authentication requestmessage in the PBC scheme, and may transmit an automatic authenticationresponse message as a response to the received automatic authenticationrequest message to the transmission device 100.

Then, the transmission device 100 and the reception device 210 mayestablish a communication channel for Wi-Fi communication bytransmitting/receiving the automatic authentication request message andthe automatic authentication response message as described above, andmay complete interconnection setting in step 515.

When the transmission device 100 and the reception device 210 areinterconnected, the transmission device 100 may transmit data, whichcorresponds to the application executed in step 501, to the receptiondevice 210 in step 517. For example, it is assumed that the transmissiondevice 100 requests video data reproduction and the reception device 210is a display apparatus capable of outputting screen data. In this casewhere the transmission device 100 and the reception device 210 areinterconnected by the automatic authentication therebetween as describedabove, the transmission device 100 may transmit the video data to thereception device 210 through the established communication channel. Whenreceiving the video data, the reception device 210 may display thereceived video data through a display unit thereof.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation for transmitting a beaconmessage by a Wi-Fi device according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. In FIG. 6, a Wi-Fi device may correspond to a device(e.g. the reception device 210) operating in an AP mode as describedabove.

Referring to FIG. 6, when a time interval becomes a transmission periodfor a beacon message in step 601, the Wi-Fi device may drive the APmodule 113 of the Wi-Fi module 110, and may wake the AP mode in step603. In this case, the beacon message represents a value transmitted bythe Wi-Fi device in the AP mode. The beacon message refers to a messageused to periodically broadcast the existence and support capability(e.g. signal intensity, usable bit-rate, etc.) of the Wi-Fi device inthe AP mode to other nearby Wi-Fi devices. When receiving the beaconmessage, each of other nearby Wi-Fi devices enables the Wi-Fi device inthe AP mode to be synchronized with the time and to operate in a powersaving mode by using the received beacon message. Accordingly, thebeacon message may be periodically broadcast at beacon intervals each ofwhich represents a time interval for transmitting a beacon message bythe Wi-Fi device in the AP mode.

In step 605, the Wi-Fi device may generate a beacon message whichincludes the multiple pieces of information as described above andadditionally includes support information. For example, the Wi-Fi devicemay add manufacturer information and information on functions itsupports and its capability to an OUI field of a beacon message asdescribed above, and may generate the beacon message. According to anexemplary implementation, the manufacturer information in the OUI fieldmay indicate that the Wi-Fi device supports a WPS function according toautomatic authentication between the Wi-Fi device and another Wi-Fidevice which have been manufactured by the same manufacturer.

In step 607, the Wi-Fi device may transmit the generated beacon messageto the nearby Wi-Fi devices. In this case, the beacon message may beperiodically transmitted at beacon intervals as described above. Next,the Wi-Fi device may support a Wi-Fi service after setting a connectionto a particular counterpart Wi-Fi device according to the automation ofthe WPS function by exchanging an automatic authentication requestmessage and an automatic authentication response message between theWi-Fi device and the particular counterpart Wi-Fi device as describedabove.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation for transmitting a proberesponse message by a Wi-Fi device according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention. In FIG. 7, the Wi-Fi device may correspond toa device (e.g. the reception device 210) operating in an AP mode asdescribed above.

Referring to FIG. 7, the Wi-Fi device may receive a probe requestmessage from a particular Wi-Fi device (e.g. the transmission device100) operating in a non-AP mode (i.e. an STA mode) in step 701. Theprobe request message includes particular service information requestedby the Wi-Fi device operating in the non-AP mode.

When receiving the probe request message, the Wi-Fi device may generatea probe response message additionally including support information instep 703. The probe response message may include various pieces ofconventional information required for a connection to a Wi-Fi service.Also, the Wi-Fi device may generate a probe response message whichincludes the multiple pieces of conventional information andadditionally includes manufacturer information and information onfunctions supported by the device and its capabilities in an OUI fieldthereof as described above. According to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, the manufacturer information in the OUI field mayindicate that the Wi-Fi device supports a WPS function according toautomatic authentication between the Wi-Fi device and another Wi-Fidevice which have been manufactured by the same manufacturer.Additionally, the Wi-Fi device may define support information, whichindicates whether the Wi-Fi device can support particular serviceinformation requested by the probe request message, in the OUI field ofthe probe response message.

Then, the Wi-Fi device may transmit the generated probe response messageto the counterpart Wi-Fi device (e.g. the transmission device 100) whichhas transmitted the probe request message in step 705. Next, the Wi-Fidevice may support a Wi-Fi service after setting a connection to thecounterpart Wi-Fi device according to the automation of the WPS functionby exchanging an automatic authentication request message and anautomatic authentication response message between the Wi-Fi device andthe counterpart Wi-Fi device as described above.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a Wi-Fi device for aWi-Fi service according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. In FIG. 8, a Wi-Fi device may correspond to a device (e.g.the transmission device 100) operating in a non-AP mode (i.e. an STAmode) as described above.

Referring to FIG. 8, when receiving as input the execution of a Wi-Fibased application in step 801, the control unit 140 may check an OUIfield of a beacon message received from each of the other nearby Wi-Fidevices in step 803. The control unit 140 may receive a beacon messageperiodically broadcast by each of the Wi-Fi devices existing around therelevant Wi-Fi device as described above.

In step 805, the control unit 140 may check support information definedin an OUI field of each beacon message. In step 807, based on thesupport information, the control unit 140 may select Wi-Fi devices,which have been manufactured by the same manufacturer as that of theWi-Fi device including the control unit 140, and may determine acounterpart Wi-Fi device capable of supporting a Wi-Fi servicecorresponding to the application, the execution of which has beenrequested, among the selected Wi-Fi devices. For example, it is assumedthat a Wi-Fi service corresponding to the execution of the applicationis the output of video data. In this case, the control unit 140 mayselect Wi-Fi devices, which have been manufactured by the samemanufacturer as that of the Wi-Fi device including the control unit 140,with reference to the OUI field of each beacon message. Then, thecontrol unit 140 may finally determine a Wi-Fi device having the videodata output function among the selected nearby Wi-Fi devices. When thereare multiple devices of the same manufacturer, which support therequested service, the control unit 140 may determine an optimalcounterpart Wi-Fi device based on multiple pieces of signal informationof the relevant devices as described above. An exemplary method fordetermining an optimal counterpart device will be described below.

When the counterpart Wi-Fi device has been determined, the control unit140 may set a connection to the determined counterpart Wi-Fi deviceaccording to automatic authentication between the relevant Wi-Fi deviceand the determined counterpart Wi-Fi device in step 809. In step 811,the control unit 140 may transmit data corresponding to the executedapplication to the determined counterpart Wi-Fi device. For example,when the counterpart Wi-Fi device has been determined, the control unit140 may transmit, to the determined counterpart Wi-Fi device, anautomatic authentication request message including a PIN code or abutton input command code necessary to execute a WPS function accordingto automatic authentication in a PIN scheme or in a PBC scheme, asdescribed above. When receiving an automatic authentication responsemessage as a response to the automatic authentication request message,the control unit 140 may set a connection to the determined counterpartWi-Fi device, and may transmit data to the determined counterpart Wi-Fidevice.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a Wi-Fi device for aWi-Fi service according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. In FIG. 9, a Wi-Fi device may correspond to a device (e.g.the transmission device 100) operating in a non-AP mode (i.e. an STAmode) as described above.

Referring to FIG. 9, when receiving as input the execution of a Wi-Fibased application in step 901, the control unit 140 may broadcast proberequest messages in step 903. For example, when application execution isrequested, the control unit 140 may generate and broadcast probe requestmessages for scanning Wi-Fi devices existing around the relevant Wi-Fidevice. In this specification, a probe request message may include aparticular service (e.g. request function information on the execution,reproduction, output, storage, etc. of data corresponding to theexecuted application) requested by a Wi-Fi device (e.g. the transmissiondevice 100) in the non-AP mode, as described above.

In step 905, the control unit 140 may receive a probe response messageas a response to the transmitted probe request message from each of thenearby Wi-Fi devices. In this description, a probe response message mayinclude manufacturer information, information on functions supported bythe device and its capabilities, support information on requestedservices, etc. in an OUI field thereof, as described above.

When receiving the probe response message from each of the nearby Wi-Fidevices, the control unit 140 may check the OUI field of each proberesponse message in step 907. In step 909, the control unit 140 maycheck support information defined in the OUI field of each proberesponse message. Based on the support information, the control unit 140may select Wi-Fi devices, which have been manufactured by the samemanufacturer as that of the Wi-Fi device including the control unit 140,and may determine a counterpart Wi-Fi device capable of supporting aWi-Fi service corresponding to the application, the execution of whichhas been requested, among the selected Wi-Fi devices in step 911. Forexample, it is assumed that a Wi-Fi service corresponding to theexecution of the application is the output of video data. In this case,the control unit 140 may select Wi-Fi devices, which have beenmanufactured by the same manufacturer as that of the Wi-Fi deviceincluding the control unit 140, with reference to the OUI field of eachprobe response message. Then, the control unit 140 may finally determinea Wi-Fi device having the video data output function among the selectednearby Wi-Fi devices. When there are multiple devices of the samemanufacturer, which support the requested service, the control unit 140may determine an optimal counterpart Wi-Fi device based on the multiplepieces of signal information of the relevant devices as described above.An exemplary method for determining an optimal counterpart device willbe described below.

When the counterpart Wi-Fi device has been determined, the control unit140 may set a connection to the determined counterpart Wi-Fi deviceaccording to automatic authentication between the relevant Wi-Fi deviceand the determined counterpart Wi-Fi device in step 913. In step 915,the control unit 140 may transmit data corresponding to the executedapplication to the determined counterpart Wi-Fi device. For example,when the counterpart Wi-Fi device has been determined, the control unit140 may transmit, to the determined counterpart Wi-Fi device, anautomatic authentication request message including a PIN code or abutton input command code necessary to execute a WPS function accordingto automatic authentication in a PIN scheme or in a PBC scheme, asdescribed above. When receiving an automatic authentication responsemessage as a response to the automatic authentication request message,the control unit 140 may set a connection to the determined counterpartWi-Fi device, and may transmit data to the determined counterpart Wi-Fidevice.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control method for determining acounterpart Wi-Fi device, to which a Wi-Fi device is to set aconnection, by the Wi-Fi device according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention. In FIG. 10, a Wi-Fi device may correspond to adevice operating in a non-AP mode (i.e. an STA mode). For example, FIG.10 may show an operation for determining a final counterpart Wi-Fidevice, to which the transmission device 100 is to set a directconnection among the multiple reception devices 200, as described above.

Referring to FIG. 10, the Wi-Fi device operating in a non-AP mode isfirst assumed to be in a state where the Wi-Fi device has received amessage from each of Wi-Fi devices existing around it in step 1001. Forexample, the Wi-Fi device in the non-AP mode may receive a beaconmessage, which is periodically broadcast by each of the nearby Wi-Fidevices in an AP mode, as described above. Other than this, the Wi-Fidevice in the non-AP mode may receive a probe response message as aresponse to the probe request message, which is transmitted by each ofthe nearby Wi-Fi devices in an AP mode, as described above.

When receiving each beacon message or each probe response message asdescribed above, the control unit 140 of the Wi-Fi device may check anOUI field of each received message in step 1003. In step 1005, thecontrol unit 140 may select devices, which have been manufactured by thesame manufacturer as that of the Wi-Fi device including the control unit140, based on manufacturer information in the OUI field of each receivedmessage. In step 1007, the control unit 140 may select devices capableof supporting a particular service corresponding to the application, theexecution of which has been requested, based on support information ineach OUI field among the selected devices of the same manufacturer.

In step 1009, the control unit 140 may determine whether the number ofthe devices selected in step 1007 is greater than one. For example, thecontrol unit 140 may determine that the number of the first-selecteddevices of the same manufacturer is greater than one, and may determinethat there are multiple devices each of which is secondly selected amongthe first-selected devices and supports a particular service.

When there is only one secondly-selected device (i.e., “NO” in step1009), the control unit 140 proceeds to step 1019. In step 1019, thecontrol unit 140 may determine the relevant device as a finalcounterpart device. On the other hand, when there is more than onesecondly-selected device (i.e., “YES” in step 1009), the control unit140 may check signal information of each device in step 1011. In thisspecification, the signal information may include received signalintensity, a bit-rate, etc. The signal information may be obtained byrules for checking signal intensities in Wi-Fi devices. Other than this,signal information (e.g. signal intensity and a bit-rate) of each devicemay be additionally included in a relevant message and the relevantmessage including the signal information may be transmitted, asdescribed above.

In step 1013, the control unit 140 may select devices, each of which hassignal information having a value (e.g. signal intensity) equal to orgreater than a preset threshold among the multiple pieces of signalinformation of the secondly-selected devices. For example, the controlunit 140 may select devices from the secondly-selected devices bychecking their received signal intensities and by comparing each of thereceived signal intensities with the preset threshold.

Next, the control unit 140 may determine whether there are multipledevices, each of which has been selected in step 1013 and has the signalinformation having the value (e.g. signal intensity) equal to or greaterthan the threshold in step 1015. Namely, the control unit 140 maydetermine whether the number of the thirdly-selected devices is pluralby checking the received signal intensities after the first and secondselections, as described above.

When there is only one thirdly-selected device (i.e. “NO” in step 1015),the control unit 140 proceeds to step 1019. In step 1019, the controlunit 140 may determine the relevant device as a final counterpartdevice. On the other hand, when there is more than one thirdly-selecteddevice (i.e. “YES” in step 1015), the control unit 140 may select adevice having the largest signal information among the multiple piecesof signal information (e.g. received signal intensities) of thethirdly-selected devices in step 1017. For example, the control unit 140may select a device having the largest received signal intensity.

In step 1019, the control unit 140 may determine the finally-selecteddevice as a final device for setting a connection to a Wi-Fi service.

Meanwhile, when no devices are selected as devices satisfying the abovedetermination conditions in step 1009 or 1015 even though the relevantdescription and illustration are omitted in FIG. 10, the control unit140 may control an operation of a set scheme. For example, afterrequesting message retransmission, the control unit 140 may re-performthe above operation based on newly-received messages. Other than this,the control unit 140 enables a user to manually select counterpartdevices by outputting an error message and a list of devices collectedby message reception.

Meanwhile, the above-described exemplary method for providing a Wi-Fiservice by a Wi-Fi device may be implemented in the form of programinstructions which can be performed by one or more various computers,and may be stored in a recording medium which can be read by the variouscomputers. At this time, the recording medium, which can be read by thevarious computers, may separately include program instructions, datafiles and data structures, or may include combinations of them.Meanwhile, the program instructions stored in the recording medium maybe specially designed and structured ones for exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention or ones which have been publicly known and can beused to/by those skilled in the computer software arts.

The recording media readable by the various computers include magneticmedia such as a hard disc, a floppy disc and a magnetic tape, opticalmedia such as a Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) and a DigitalVersatile Disc (DVD), magnetic-optical media such as a floptical disc, aRead Only Memory (ROM), a Random access Memory (RAM), a flash memory,etc., which correspond to hardware apparatuses specially configured tostore and execute the program instructions. Also, the programinstructions include not only a machine code generated by a compiler butalso a high-level language code executable by a computer by using aninterpreter, etc. The above hardware apparatuses may be configured tooperate as at least one software module in order to perform theoperation of the present invention, and vice versa.

As described above, exemplary embodiments of the present inventionprovide a method and a system for providing a Wi-Fi service by a Wi-Fidevice, in which Wi-Fi devices can transmit/receive information on theirfunctions and capabilities supported to/from each other and an optimalcounterpart Wi-Fi device can be determined among multiple counterpartWi-Fi devices during automatic connection setting of a WPS functionaccording to automatic authentication between the Wi-Fi devices. Bydoing this, each of the Wi-Fi devices can recognize the supportinformation on the functions supported by the other Wi-Fi devices.Accordingly, when Wi-Fi devices are interconnected, each Wi-Fi devicecan automatically authenticate another Wi-Fi device without theintervention of a user. More particularly, when multiple Wi-Fi devicescapable of supporting a particular service are selected, an optimalcounterpart Wi-Fi device for performing the particular service can beautomatically rapidly selected among the multiple Wi-Fi devices. Namely,when a particular application for using a Wi-Fi service is executed, itis possible to rapidly select an appropriate counterpart Wi-Fi devicesupporting the functions of the particular application, so that theconvenience of using the service can be provided. According to exemplaryembodiments of the present invention, inconvenient handling actionsfollowing a connection between the Wi-Fi devices can be reduced, so thatit is possible to contribute to the improvement of the usability,convenience and competitiveness of the Wi-Fi devices.

Also, those skilled in the art in the technical field of the presentinvention will be able to understand that exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention as described above may be practiced in other specificforms without changing the technical ideas or essential featuresthereof. Therefore, it should be understood that the exemplaryembodiments as described above are for illustrative purposes and do notlimit the present invention in all aspects. Further, the scope of thepresent invention should be defined not by the above detaileddescription of the exemplary embodiments but by the accompanying claims,and should be construed to include the meaning and scope of theaccompanying claims, and various modifications, additions andsubstitutions derived from the equivalent concepts of the accompanyingclaims.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A method comprising: receiving, at an electronicdevice, first manufacture information from at least one device fromamong a plurality of electronic devices external to the electronicdevice for a service requested at the electronic device; comparing, atthe electronic device, the first manufacture information with secondmanufacture information corresponding to the electronic device; andselecting the at least one device for the service based at least in parton a determination that the first manufacture information matches thesecond manufacture information.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein theselecting of the at least one device is further based on a determinationthat the service is supported at the at least one device.
 23. The methodof claim 22, wherein information indicating whether the service issupported at the at least one device is received from the at least onedevice along with the first manufacture information.
 24. The method ofclaim 22, wherein information indicating whether the service issupported at the at least one device is received from the at least onedevice separately from the first manufacture information.
 25. The methodof claim 21, wherein the selecting of the at least one device is furtherbased on a determination that a signal received from the at least onedevice satisfies a specified condition.
 26. The method of claim 25,wherein the determination that the signal received from the at least onedevice satisfies the specified condition is based at least in part on astrength of the signal being within a specified range.
 27. The method ofclaim 21, further comprising: authenticating the at least one device asa device to be connected to the electronic device for the service. 28.The method of claim 27, wherein the authenticating of the at least onedevice is based at least in part on at least one of a pin code, an inputcommand code, and an encryption scheme.
 29. The method of claim 27,further comprising: communicatively connecting the electronic devicewith the at least one device to provide the service based at least inpart on a success of the authenticating.
 30. The method of claim 29,further comprising: transmitting data corresponding to the service fromthe electronic device to the at least one device.
 31. An apparatuscomprising: memory configured to store first manufacture information forthe apparatus; and a controller operatively coupled to the memory, thecontroller configured to: receive second manufacture information from atleast one device of a plurality from among devices external to theapparatus for a service requested at the apparatus; compare the firstmanufacture information with second manufacture information; and selectthe at least one device for the service based at least in part on adetermination that the first manufacture information matches the secondmanufacture information.
 32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein thecontroller is configured to: select the at least one device furtherbased on a determination that the service is supported at the at leastone device.
 33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein informationindicating whether the service is supported at the at least one deviceis received from the at least one device along with the secondmanufacture information.
 34. The apparatus of claim 32, whereininformation indicating whether the service is supported at the at leastone device is received from the at least one device separately from thesecond manufacture information.
 35. The apparatus of claim 31, whereinthe at least one device includes a first device and a second device, andwherein the controller is configured to: select the first device basedat least in part on a determination that a strength of a signal receivedfrom the first device is greater than a strength of a signal receivedfrom the second device.
 36. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein thecontroller is configured to: authenticate the at least one device as adevice to be connected to the apparatus for the service.
 37. Theapparatus of claim 31, wherein the controller is configured to: transmitdata corresponding to the service from the apparatus to the at least onedevice.
 38. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the controller isconfigured to: refrain from selecting the at least one device as thedevice to be connected for the service based at least in part on adetermination that the first manufacture information does not match thesecond manufacture information.
 39. The apparatus of claim 31, whereinthe service comprises: at least one of a camera function, a printfunction, a storage function, a display function, a network function, aninput function, and a computing function.
 40. A non-transitorymachine-readable storage device storing instructions that, when executedby one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to performoperations comprising: receiving, at an electronic device, firstmanufacture information from at least one device from among a pluralityof electronic devices external to the electronic device for a servicerequested at the electronic device; comparing, at the electronic device,the first manufacture information with second manufacture informationcorresponding to the electronic device; and selecting the at least onedevice for the service based at least in part on a determination thatthe first manufacture information matches the second manufactureinformation.